Have your say: FDF Draft Funding Plan opens for consultation

Image credit: Sam Carter | Unsplash

The FDF Draft Funding Plan is now open for public consultation

The Australian Government is seeking feedback on how funding should be spent from 2024-28 under the Future Drought Fund (FDF).

The FDF was set up to help Australian farmers and regional communities build resilience and prepare for the impacts of future drought. A total of $100 million is made available each year to build drought resilience in line with a four-year Drought Resilience Funding Plan. This public consultation will inform the next phase of investments under the FDF.

How to take part

The public consultation process will ensure everyone has an opportunity to put their views forward on how best to help Australian farmers and regional communities build resilience and prepare for future drought and climate risks.

You can contribute your view through the “Have Your Say” platform and/or by attending the public face-to-face events that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is holding across Australia in early November.

A public forum for Victoria will be held in Melbourne at Stamford Plaza (111 Little Collins Street) from 10-11:30am on Friday, 3 November, with registrations now open.

Two more public fora for Victoria will be held at:

• Traralgon on Thursday 23 November, 10am
• Shepparton on Friday, 1 December, 9am

Registrations are now open; click on the town above to register.

The consultation process closes at 5pm AEDT, on Wednesday 6 December 2023.

Consultation documents

• DAFF has released two documents for public comment, which are available on its website:
  • a draft Drought Resilience Funding Plan 2024-28 (the Funding Plan) and
  • a consultation draft of the Future Drought Fund Investment Strategy 2024-28 (the Investment Strategy).
• These documents have been informed by the recent Productivity Commission’s Inquiry Report, and early feedback from stakeholders.
• The Funding Plan is a legislative instrument which outlines the intent of the fund and the principles that apply to spending under the Future Drought Fund Act 2019. The instrument must be made by 12 February 2024.
• The consultation draft of the Investment Strategy contains discussion questions to seek views on how to best prioritise drought-resilience funding. It also sets out options to implement the Productivity Commission’s recommendations.
• These documents will be finalised and released mid-next year to provide detailed information on the FDF investments from 2024 to 2028.

You can find all this information, including links to the documents, on the “Have Your Say” platform.

Assistant Secretary of the FDF, Kim Farrant, said drought is an enduring part of the Australian landscape and woven into our stories of living life on the land.

“It’s important that the work we do to prepare for future droughts is informed by engagement with those at the forefront of impacts caused by drought and climate change,” Ms Farrant said.

“The public consultation process will ensure everyone has an opportunity to put their views forward on how best to help Australian farmers and regional communities build resilience and prepare future climate risks.

“I encourage stakeholders to get involved to ensure we have the priorities right for drought resilience funding going forward.”